Police say speed, alcohol factors in fatal accident

Special to The Herald-Sun | Julian Harrison
Police say alcohol and speed were factors in this early Monday wreck that killed Franco Juan Sanchez, 33, and left 24-year-old Edward Frye Mitchell III in critical condition.

DURHAM —

Early Monday, a fatal wreck shut down Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Durham from University Drive to U.S. 15-501.

About 3:44 a.m., police reported, Franco Juan Sanchez, 33, swerved off the MLK exit from Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard. He drove too fast in his 2002 Subaru Legacy and went off the road to the left.
“The vehicle went airborne, crossed multiple lanes, hit a jersey wall and then landed on the U.S. 15-501 bypass/Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway extension,” said police spokeswoman Kammie Michael.
Emergency personnel pronounced Sanchez dead at the scene. His passenger, Edward Frye Mitchell III, 24, was taken to the hospital. He remained in critical condition late Monday, investigators said.
Alcohol also was a factor in the accident, according to police. It’s not clear yet where the men had been drinking in the hours before the crash. That remains under investigation, Michael said.

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